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商品の説明
内容説明
A novel for those who loved Behind the Scenes at the Museum, The Poisonwood Bible and The Lovely Bones. Raped then murdered in Japanese occupied Hong Kong, 1942, Lin Shui's 'Hungry Ghost' clings tenaciously to life. Holing up in a hospital morgue, destined to become a school, just in time she finds a host off whom to feed. It is 12-year-old Alice Safford, the deeply-troubled daughter of a leading figure in government. The parasitic ghost follows her to her home on the Peak. There, the lethal mix of the two, embroiled in the family's web of dark secrets and desperate lies, unleashes chaos. All this unfolds against a background of colonial unrest, riots, extremes of weather and the countdown to the return of the colony to China. As successive tragedies engulf Alice, her ghostly entourage swells alarmingly. She flees to England, then France, in a bid to escape the past, only to find her portable 'Hungry Ghosts' have accompanied her. It seems the peace she longs for is to prove far more elusive that she could ever have imagined. The Hungy Ghosts is a remarkable tour-de-force of the imagination, full of instantly memorable characters whose lives intermesh and boil over in a cauldron of domestic mayhem, unleashing unworldly spirits into the troubled air.
著者について
Anne Berry was born in London in 1956, then spent much of her infancy in Aden, before moving on to Hong Kong at the age of six, where she was educated. She worked for a short period as a journalist for the South China Morning Post, before returning to Britain. After completing a three-year acting course, she embarked on a career in theatre, playing everything from pantomime to Shakespeare. She now lives in Surrey with her husband and four children. 'The Hungry Ghosts' is her first novel.
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カスタマーレビュー
Amazon.com で最も参考になったカスタマーレビュー (beta)
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4件のカスタマーレビュー
Engrossing
2012/3/12
The novel is set mostly in Hong Kong, where a young girl - an outsider in her family - lives with her distant parents, older sisters, and younger brother. Alice is clearly a disappointment to her family. Her father is caring but unable to articulate his feelings. Her mother is distant and emotionally abusive. She blames Alice for having to be subjected to another pregnancy in order to produce her precious only son.
There is also the problem of Alice's behaviour. While others might see her as a bit odd but merely inquisitive child, her family sees her as a troublemaker with emotional and mental issues that make their lives difficult. It certainly does not help mattes when Alice becomes haunted by the angry spirit of a young Chinese girl who was raped and murdered by a Japanese soldier about 20 years earlier.
The novel follows Alice and her ghost from her early teens till middle-age. The story is told in small chapters which all have different voices. This allows the reader to see all of the different facets of the events. Alice has a very different view, for example, of a medal ceremony they attended for her father than her mother does. There strong contrasts between the voices makes for a particularly engaging read.
I also found Alice's character to be fascinating. She was bright and interesting, but at the same time terribly insecure - likely due to her family. Her ghost was well-fleshed out as well, and I enjoyed the chapters told from the ghosts perspective. The other characters are hugely flawed, which make them rather interesting, and they place this family beside a less dysfunctional family to further demonstrate the abuses which are heaped on Alice.
There are several important twists in the story which I will not reveal, however I was satisfied with the conclusion. Some got what they deserved, others didn't. This is of course much like real life.
There is also the problem of Alice's behaviour. While others might see her as a bit odd but merely inquisitive child, her family sees her as a troublemaker with emotional and mental issues that make their lives difficult. It certainly does not help mattes when Alice becomes haunted by the angry spirit of a young Chinese girl who was raped and murdered by a Japanese soldier about 20 years earlier.
The novel follows Alice and her ghost from her early teens till middle-age. The story is told in small chapters which all have different voices. This allows the reader to see all of the different facets of the events. Alice has a very different view, for example, of a medal ceremony they attended for her father than her mother does. There strong contrasts between the voices makes for a particularly engaging read.
I also found Alice's character to be fascinating. She was bright and interesting, but at the same time terribly insecure - likely due to her family. Her ghost was well-fleshed out as well, and I enjoyed the chapters told from the ghosts perspective. The other characters are hugely flawed, which make them rather interesting, and they place this family beside a less dysfunctional family to further demonstrate the abuses which are heaped on Alice.
There are several important twists in the story which I will not reveal, however I was satisfied with the conclusion. Some got what they deserved, others didn't. This is of course much like real life.
Bad book, but author has some skill
2011/11/13
This is a pretty bad book. The multiple point-of-view is confusing, the characters are unbelievable, and not one of them is likable. Also, there's way too much telling and not enough showing. Probably less than 10 percent of the text is conversation, and the rest is just narration. This results in a really flat book; it could have been a lot more active. Oh, and there's some really bad sections where the author has the characters 'tell' you necessary historical background. Very clumsy.
That said, the author isn't completely talentless. Her descriptions of places are often vivid and she has some good use of words. (She has a few really miserable ones, too, where her metaphors are tortured and in some cases laughable.) If she'd had either a good editor or a really good writing workshop, she might have come up with a better book. As it is, this one seems to have been hurried into print while still in first draft or second draft stage.
This book is inspiring to aspiring writers. Why? Because if a book this bad can make it into print, maybe yours can too.
That said, the author isn't completely talentless. Her descriptions of places are often vivid and she has some good use of words. (She has a few really miserable ones, too, where her metaphors are tortured and in some cases laughable.) If she'd had either a good editor or a really good writing workshop, she might have come up with a better book. As it is, this one seems to have been hurried into print while still in first draft or second draft stage.
This book is inspiring to aspiring writers. Why? Because if a book this bad can make it into print, maybe yours can too.
What was the point?
2011/6/8
形式:ペーパーバック
I'm confused about what was the point of this novel. I read it because I've lived in London, Paris and Hong Kong. It was fun to read about familiar places but that was where the enjoyment ended.
Why did this ghost latch on to this girl? Was there some lesson on life after death or what was it going on?
The writing style was very annoying, written in the first person by multiple characters but all sounding the same. The only one who didn't write was the main character, which was a disappointment. I would have kind of liked to have had her explain some things.
Most of the players are really unsympathetic, especially the mother. She seems to have no logic or soul and the only "explanation" was that her brother was favored as a child. There is also a very thinly explained suicide and it's odd that someone gets pregnant at 16 and then without explanation, never gets pregnant again. Certainly that wasn't the reason? Not medically accurate. Sorry!
Why did this ghost latch on to this girl? Was there some lesson on life after death or what was it going on?
The writing style was very annoying, written in the first person by multiple characters but all sounding the same. The only one who didn't write was the main character, which was a disappointment. I would have kind of liked to have had her explain some things.
Most of the players are really unsympathetic, especially the mother. She seems to have no logic or soul and the only "explanation" was that her brother was favored as a child. There is also a very thinly explained suicide and it's odd that someone gets pregnant at 16 and then without explanation, never gets pregnant again. Certainly that wasn't the reason? Not medically accurate. Sorry!
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